Off Topic Scamming the scammers

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Off Topic Scamming the scammers

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I thought this deserved a thread of its own.

So we started yesterday with a suspiciously cheap 500 for sale.

www.wightbay.com/cars-for-sale/fiat-500-twinair/4610705

Being of a nosey git type of character, I decided to contact the seller. With the mobile number being constantly engaged I clicked the "contact" button and put in a bit of ground work, with a message thus:

Hi, is your car still for sale? Thanks.

It took a few hours but the reply came back yesterday evening, along with more pictures (showing the Reg Number as LR12 JWK), as follows:

Hi,

I'm sorry for the delayed response. Are you still interested in buying my vehicle?

I sent you a in attach file where you can find more photos so you can see that it is in a very good shape. You can tell by the pictures that this is as close to showroom condition as you will find. I don't know too much about vehicle, but I can tell you that it is in immaculate condition (no scratches, no rust, no accident).

If you are a serious buyer and if you are really interested and if you need more details about the vehicle email me back.

I am waiting for your prompt response.

Sincerely,

Realising that this was obviously a bargain (or at least some fun) not to be missed I quickly replied:

Hi

Yes, I like the look of this a lot. Are you the first owner? Does it have a full service history?

I'd love to come and see it tomorrow if possible?

Robin

The seller (for whom you will feel very sorry once you hear her unfortunate story) is obviously a busy thieving scumbag, I mean divorced lady, because she did not reply until this morning, thus:

Hello ,

I received this vehicle as a birthday gift from my ex-husband when I was living with him in United Kingdom. I recently got a divorce after I caught him cheating on me and now I returned to my hometown in Ireland. I wanted to keep the vehicle but every time I look at it, it reminds me of him and it is too painful for me. This is why I want to sell it as fast as I can, so I can put an end to this chapter of my life.

The vehicle is now kept in my parents garage, here in Ireland. I was advised to sell it back in United Kingdom because it would save me a lot of paper work and the buyer would not have to pay any registration taxes.

Because I don't know anything about selling vehicles and I am a bit scared of this, I will search for a good delivery company that will take care of everything for me.

I also want to allow the buyer to test the vehicles before paying for it because it is the fair thing to do. If you are interested, please let me know your name and address so I can search for a delivery company and see the total costs to your location. So it's my responsibility to deliver it to your home at no extra charge.

I will wait for your answer.

Best Regards,

Well whilst it is tempting not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I quite fancy a trip to Ireland, and it's always best to see a car in the flesh before you buy (even though I am sure that this kind lady will soon suggest paying into "escrow" for my 100% protection). So I replied as follows:

I'm so sorry to hear of what has happened to you. I quite understand that you would not want to keep the car in those circumstances!

It is really good of you to offer to ship the car but I would like to see the car first. I don't mind coming over to Ireland - in fact I just mentioned it to my wife and she said we could make a weekend of it. We are free this weekend. Whereabouts in Ireland are you?

Speak soon I hope.

Robin

I almost feel so sorry for her I should offer to pay over the asking price.

Anyway, that email was sent a few minutes ago. I await her next offering.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of "You've Been Scumbagged".....
 
I'm glad I found this. It sounded so fishey lol but I wasn't tempted like robin to look into it further but kinda wish I did now. Will keep my eyes peeled for further tempting offers down here on the iow.
 
So are you actually going to to go to Ireland?

Err, no. Because (i) the next message will tell me why there is no need for me to do that; (ii) the car is not in Ireland; (iii) the seller is not in Ireland; and (iv) my wife hates Irish people.

PS Ahmett: one of those reasons isn't true. Can you guess which one?
 
A good ten years ago I once spend a good couple of months talking to one of those African princes with loads of money that they need to get out of the country. It was fun. I used to tell them about my family and make up stories.
 
I corresponded with someone last week about a car on ebay that has now disappeared and was suspiciously cheap. They too wanted to ship it to me. The car was an 09 1.2 Lounge (13K miles from new) 1 owner, Red with red leather interior, dark windows, panoramic roof etc etc. Advertised for £4900 for quick sale - the trade in price was £6.4K without all the extras and the low mileage so I emailed the guy, although the car was advertised as being in Bristol it turned out to now be in Edinburgh etc etc. The pics were all of it outside a 2nd hand car lot somewhere. The story was that they were buying a new 4x4 as the wife was expecting . It looked very suspicious as they were trying to sell it for below trade-in prices. After I asked a few more questions it disappeared - so someone either picked up a bargain or it was a scam?
 
I corresponded with someone last week about a car on ebay that has now disappeared and was suspiciously cheap. They too wanted to ship it to me. The car was an 09 1.2 Lounge (13K miles from new) 1 owner, Red with red leather interior, dark windows, panoramic roof etc etc. Advertised for £4900 for quick sale - the trade in price was £6.4K without all the extras and the low mileage so I emailed the guy, although the car was advertised as being in Bristol it turned out to now be in Edinburgh etc etc. The pics were all of it outside a 2nd hand car lot somewhere. The story was that they were buying a new 4x4 as the wife was expecting . It looked very suspicious as they were trying to sell it for below trade-in prices. After I asked a few more questions it disappeared - so someone either picked up a bargain or it was a scam?

Let me guess - they worked on the oil rigs so couldn't show it to you so offered to ship it and you could get your money returned to you by the "escrow agent" if you weren't happy with it?
 
Having read through this thread, I would be involving the police or at least passing everything received thus far, to them for intelligence purposes. I would also inform Trading Standards or whatever it is they are called these days.

I have a suspicion that Hartwell at Dunstable don't have any clue here what is going on. If this just slips by and turns out not to be legitimate, then some unfortunate person, could be out of pocket to the tune of several thousand pounds.
 
Having read through this thread, I would be involving the police or at least passing everything received thus far, to them for intelligence purposes. I would also inform Trading Standards or whatever it is they are called these days.

I have a suspicion that Hartwell at Dunstable don't have any clue here what is going on. If this just slips by and turns out not to be legitimate, then some unfortunate person, could be out of pocket to the tune of several thousand pounds.
Yes, but is the person even in the UK or Ireland? I doubt it.
 
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